There are a
few directors out around there who you know will always surprise you. Others
have a certain style. They “do” a certain type of film, they have their little
trademarks. Others, you just know will have a trick or two up their sleeve. And
irrelevant of what particularly they will “do” in any given work, you know it
will be brilliant. Kiarostami is just such a director in my eyes. I know that
when I watch his films, no matter what “the details” I know it will be
brilliant. I know it will grab me by the heartstrings. That is why, when a dear
friend (who I have recently discovered is in London) proposed we go to see it,
I jumped at the chance. I hadn’t even read the blurb (which is rare for me, but
it happens).
Like
Someone in Love starts at a bar. Akiko, a university student, is being
persuaded by the manager of a bar to spend the night with “a very important
customer”. This is no out of the ordinary request for Akiko as, unbeknown to
her family; she has been leading the double life of student and prostitute for
a while. Apart from her rather unusual side line Akiko pretty much has the
worries and concerns of a normal university student. Exams, guys… Her boyfriend
wants to marry her, and this could be considered a good thing but he is rather
jealous… Anyway, Akiko sets off to meet this “very important client”, an older
gentleman of some import as far as the bar tender is concerned, expecting a
night like any other. The client however, is not quite the kind of person Akiko
is used to… And he will have a deeper impact on her life than she initially
realizes.
I don’t
know how to begin describing this one to you. Stylistically speaking, it is
quite a typical Kiarostami. Speech is kept to the bare essentials, but when it
is used, it is used eloquently and with sometimes heart-rending expression.
There are long silences and a lot of the action is centred around cars, traffic
and driving, something I have noticed about Persian cinema – or at least the
few films I have watched – but I have no idea why that would be, there’s a
cultural research project in there somewhere, but maybe next time… But anyway.
If you are not used to Kiarostami’s rather particular style – and minimalist
films – it will take a bit of getting used to. But I personally reckon it is
very much worth acquiring the taste for it.
What is
beautiful about this film is that is one of the best examples I know of taking
a story that looks pretty local but that, in reality, speaks of universal
themes. I was discussing this later on with my friend, and if you think about
it the story could just as well be transposed to a much more Middle Eastern
setting, Iran or even Turkey. I mean,
where I come from the story of the young ingénue fresh from the village who is
corrupted by the big city and forced into a life of prostitution was once
almost a staple. Partners are, of course, incredibly jealous in these films and
I’m not sure how well the character of the boyfriend fits in with Japanese
stereotypical characters but he sure as heck fits in with Middle Easter ones.
And the funny thing is, and herein lies Kiarostami’s talent, it does not seem
“off” at all. This is possibly a testament to the fact that human emotion is a
lot more universal than we may (or may not) like to think. Loneliness is the
theme in this one. You will immediately think of the old man, and I must say he
does deserve a mention. I don’t want to give away too much about him but he is
the character that stuck with me the most, for the longest time after the film.
As you can imagine his loneliness is at the forefront but when you look at it
more closely, all the characters are quite lonely in some way. There is a
constant sense of distance, of being cut off. People being physically near
enough to touch but actually a world away. And isn’t that just a bit the way
modern life in the big city is sometimes? Hey, it just occurred to me… The
cars. Think of a traffic jam. There you are, stuck in your car, sharing a
frustration with tens of other drivers around you. You are united in your sense
of urgency, your boredom of the situation and the will to get out of there as
soon as possible. You share a moment and not few emotions, you seem united –
you are after all “the traffic jam”. Yet, everyone is in their own little
world, their own little bubble. And you know that once the traffic starts going
again it will be every man for himself again…
I never
said the film was a happy one. I can guarantee it’s kind of brilliant though.
You really, really should give it a spin.
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